Custom Sized Plastic Tote Having Intermediate Sleeve and Method of Manufacturing Same

ABSTRACT

A method of manufacturing a custom sized plastic tote lighter in weight than heretofore known custom sized plastic totes is provided. The method comprises separating an injection molded tote into upper and lower portions by cutting the injection molded tote. A sleeve or middle portion of plastic material is secured to the upper and lower portions of the injection molded tote to create a custom sized plastic tote of a desired height. Alternatively, portions of different injection molded totes may be used to create a custom sized plastic tote. The sleeve may be made from different materials and may be made of multiple pieces.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of the filing of U.S. provisionalPatent Application Ser. No. 61/162,898, filed Mar. 24, 2009 entitled“Custom Sized Plastic Tote and Method of Manufacture” which is fullyincorporated herein.

FIELD

The present invention relates to a tote for use in shipping products.

BACKGROUND

Injection molded totes are designed to hold parts or products forshipment and/or storage. One exemplary use is in the automobilemanufacturing industry. For example, the injection molded tote may beused several times for transporting parts between a part supplier and anautomobile or other product assembly plant.

Injection molded totes have a finite usable life. When the injectionmolded tote becomes damaged and is no longer useful, the tote is eitherdiscarded or ground up as a means of recycling the plastic.Alternatively, the injection molded tote may become obsolete or unwantedif the parts for which the tote is designed are discontinued and theinjection molded tote does not adequately fit another part.

Injection molded totes are made in a limited number of sizes orfootprints, and may be color coded to indicate different sizes. Thesizes are limited so they fit in a desired manner inside a standardpallet footprint for shipping purposes, which is commonly 48 inches by45 inches. Therefore, some popular footprints or sizes for injectionmolded totes are: 24 inches by 22 inches (four totes per layer arranged2×2) and 24 inches by 15 inches (six totes per layer arranged 3×2),among others. Because these sizes are finite, finding a used injectionmolded tote of a suitable size and color may be difficult.

Injection molded totes are made in a limited number of heights so thatwhen loaded and stacked, the height of the pallet load is between 48 and52 inches or close. For example, one common load is 11 inch tallinjection molded totes stacked four high. Injection molded tote toolingis very expensive. In addition, making such tooling for tall injectionmolded totes (say 23 inches) is difficult.

It is known to take two standard sized injection molded totes of thesame footprint (length×width), but of different heights, cut them andweld them together to create a custom sized height. One difficulty withusing this method to create an injection molded tote of a custom heightis that the resulting tote is relatively heavy, and therefore, costly totransport when compared to a tote of the same height manufactured inaccordance with the present invention.

What is needed in the art is a method of manufacturing a custom sizedplastic tote from one or more unwanted, obsolete, or damaged injectionmolded totes. The resulting tote is lighter and, therefore, cheaper andeasier to transport than known cut and welded injection molded totes.

SUMMARY

The present invention provides a method of manufacturing a custom sizedplastic tote from one or more injection molded totes. These standardsized injection molded totes may be unwanted, obsolete, or damagedinjection molded totes. According to one aspect of the invention, acustom sized plastic tote of a desired height is made by separating anupper portion of an injection molded tote from a lower portion of theinjection molded tote. The next step is inserting a sleeve or middleportion of the custom sized plastic tote between the upper and lowerportions of the injection molded tote. The next step is securing themiddle portion of the custom sized plastic tote to the upper and lowerportions of the injection molded tote to create a custom sized plastictote of a desired height.

According to another aspect of the invention, the method ofmanufacturing a custom sized plastic tote of a desired height comprisescutting a first injection molded tote, separating the first injectionmolded tote into an upper portion and a lower portion. The next stepcomprises securing one of the upper and lower portions of the firstinjection molded tote to a plastic sleeve. The last step comprisessecuring a portion of a second injection molded tote to the sleeve tocomplete the custom sized plastic tote.

According to another aspect of the invention, the method ofmanufacturing a custom sized plastic tote of a desired height comprisescutting first and second injection molded totes, separating each of theinjection molded totes into an upper portion and a lower portion. Thenext step comprises securing one of the upper and lower portions of thefirst injection molded tote to a plastic sleeve. The last step comprisessecuring one of the upper and lower portions of the second injectionmolded tote to the plastic sleeve. The unused portions of the first andsecond injection molded totes are not used to manufacture the customsized plastic tote.

The sleeve of the custom sized plastic tote may be made of multiplepieces of plastic or only one piece of plastic. Securing the upperand/or lower portions of the injection molded tote or totes to thesleeve may be done by any suitable means known in the industry. Forexample, the upper and/or lower portions of the injection molded tote ortotes may be secured to the middle sleeve by riveting, welding, orgluing, to name a few. The middle sleeve, therefore, separates the upperand lower portions of the injection molded totes used to create thecustomized tote.

In one embodiment, the middle sleeve may be made of corrugated plasticwith the corrugations and flutes extending vertically, thereby enablingthe custom sized plastic tote to withstand high compression forces thatare encountered when the totes are stacked one on another.Advantageously, stacking strength enables multiple loaded totes to bestacked upon each other without damage to the totes or to any partstherein. Because the corrugated plastic sleeve is made of polyethylene,the same material from which the upper and lower sections of thecustomized tote are made, the sleeve may be sonic welded at spots to theinjection molded tote pieces.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the sleeve may bemade of trilaminate materials, such as Con-Pearl®. Because Con-Pearl® ismade of polypropylene, which does not weld to polyethylene, the sleevemay be riveted to the injection molded tote pieces of the customizedplastic tote.

Another aspect of the present invention is color coding. The customsized plastic tote may be assembled with the middle sleeve and/or itstop or bottom pieces from injection molded totes being a chosen colorwhich communicates either the size or contents inside the custom sizedplastic tote. Such color coding may provide the same color code schemeas the injection molded tote or totes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of one embodiment of a custom sizedplastic tote in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2A is a front perspective view of an injection molded tote beingcut into upper and lower portions;

FIG. 2B is a front perspective view of the injection molded tote of FIG.2A following separation into upper and lower portions;

FIG. 2C is a front perspective view of the projections being removedfrom the upper portion of the injection molded tote of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 2D is a front perspective view of the projections being removedfrom the lower portion of the injection molded tote of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 2E is a disassembled view of the injection molded tote of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 2F is a perspective view of the injection molded tote of FIG. 2Abeing welded together;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along section line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4A is a partially disassembled view of an alternative embodiment ofa custom sized plastic tote;

FIG. 4B is a front perspective view of the custom sized plastic tote ofFIG. 4A fully assembled;

FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view of an alternative material for thesleeve of any of the custom sized plastic totes of the presentinvention;

FIG. 6 is a partially disassembled view showing a portion of analternative method of manufacturing a custom sized plastic tote usingtwo injection molded totes;

FIG. 7A is a partially disassembled view showing an alternativeembodiment of custom sized plastic tote; and

FIG. 7B is a front perspective view of the custom sized plastic tote ofFIG. 7A fully assembled.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a custom sized plastic tote 10according to one embodiment of the invention. The custom sized plastictote 10 includes an upper portion, referred to as a rail 12; a lowerportion, referred to as a tray 14, and a middle portion or sleeve 16secured to the rail 12 and tray 14.

In one embodiment, the custom sized plastic tote 10 includes thecomponents of one injection molded tote 18 shown in FIG. 2A. Theinjection molded tote 18 may be a used tote, a new tote, a partiallydamaged tote or any combination thereof. This document does not intendto specify the previous use or condition of injection molded tote 18.The injection molded tote 18 has a pair of handles 19, an upper lip 20,a lower lip 22, a floor 24 and a plurality of projections 26 extendinggenerally vertically between the upper and lower lips 20, 22 andprotruding outwardly beyond the sidewalls 28. One method ofmanufacturing the custom sized plastic tote 10 using portions ofinjection molded tote 18 is shown in FIGS. 2A-2F.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the custom sized plastic tote 10 of FIG. 1 is madeby cutting the injection molded tote 18 along a generally horizontalplane “P” (indicated by the dashed line in FIG. 2A) using a movablecutting tool 21 having a rotary blade 23. It will be appreciated by oneof ordinary skill in the art that the cutting tool 21 may be stationary,as opposed to movable, and/or may move outside injection molded tote 18rather than inside injection molded tote 18 and/or may have other typesof cutting means, such as a cutting blade that reciprocates rather thanrotates. The injection molded tote 18 may be cut or separated into twoor more pieces by other methods known in the art of machining.

It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art thatinjection molded totes are available in a limited number of sizes asdetermined by the length (L_(i)), width (W₁), and height (H₁). As shownin FIG. 2A, L₁ generally indicates the distance between the outersurfaces 30, 32 of opposing sides of the upper and lower lips 20, 22,respectively, of injection molded tote 18. W₁ generally indicates thedistance between the outer surfaces 34, 36 of opposing sides of theupper and lower lips 20, 22, respectively, of injection molded tote 18.H₁ generally indicates the distance between the upper surface 38 of theupper lip 20 and the lower surface 40 of the lower lip 22 of injectionmolded tote 18.

By way of example, injection molded totes have length and widthdimensions of about 24 inches by about 15 inches, about 24 inches byabout 22 inches, or about 48 inches by about 15 inches. By way offurther example, injection molded tote 18 may have a height, H₁, ofabout 4 or more inches. Thus, each of the rail 12 and the tray 14 mayhave similar length and width dimensions, though it will be appreciatedthat the rail 12 may have interior dimensions that are slightlydifferent than the interior dimensions of the tray 14.

With reference to FIG. 2B, cutting along generally horizontal plane “P”separates the injection molded tote into two portions, the rail 12 andthe tray 14. By way of further example, the tray 14 may have a height,H₃, of about 2¾ inches measured on the inside of the tray 14, and therail 12 may have a height, H₂ of about 3 inches. However, it will beappreciated that the height of each of the rail 12 and tray 14 maydepend on the height, H₁, of the injection molded tote 18. It will alsobe appreciated that cutting may remove a portion of the height, H₁, suchthat the sum of the heights H₂ and H₃ are generally less than H₁.Furthermore, cutting may include removing a substantial amount of thematerial between the rail 12 and the tray 14. As shown in FIG. 2A,projections 26 are cut along with the sidewalls 28 of the injectionmolded tote 18. Although the projections 26 are illustrated as beinggenerally vertically oriented, oriented in other directions and may beother shapes or configurations.

As shown in FIGS. 2C and 2D, in addition to cutting injection moldedtote 18 into two separate pieces, portions of the injection molded tote18 may also undergo additional machining to remove external protrusions26 extending outwardly from the sidewalls 28. As shown in FIG. 2C, ablade 42 extending above an upper surface 44 of a work table 46 cuts andremoves the protrusions, trim or projections 26 along one side of theupper portion or rail 12 of injection molded tote 18 as the rail 12moves in the direction of arrow 48. This process is repeated four times,one for each side of the rail 12. A guide 50 shown in phantom forclarity is used to cut the protrusions 26 off the rail 12 to createrelatively smooth sidewalls. As shown in FIG. 2D, the same process isused to remove the protrusions trim or projections 26 from all foursides of the tray 14 of the injection molded tote 18 after tray 14 hasbeen separated from the rail 12 of injection molded tote 18, as shown inFIG. 2B.

As shown in FIG. 2E, this protrusion removal process provides generallyrectangular rail 12 with four sidewalls 52 extending downwardly from theupper lip 20, each sidewall 52 having a relatively smooth outer surface54 as well as a smooth inner surface 56. This protrusion removal processfurther provides tray 14 with four sidewalls 58 above lower lip 22, eachsidewall 58 having a relatively smooth outer surface 60, as well as arelatively smooth inner surface 62.

These relatively smooth outer surfaces 54, 60 of sidewalls 52, 58 of therail 12 and tray 14, respectively, fit inside the sleeve 16 and are usedto secure the components of the custom sized plastic tote 10 of FIG. 1together. It will be appreciated that the removal of the externalprotrusions 26, such as projections and trim and cutting injectionmolded tote 18 into multiple pieces, may be completed in one or moremachining operations. Furthermore, robotic equipment or CNC equipmentmay be utilized to machine the injection molded tote according to theprinciples described herein.

FIGS. 1, 2E and 2F show an exemplary embodiment of the sleeve 16 made ofone piece of corrugated plastic. However, sleeve of any of the customsized plastic totes described herein may be made of multiple pieces ofcorrugated plastic or other plastic material of any desired dimensions.By way of example, and not limitation, sleeve 16 may be made of highdensity polyethylene (HDPE). As shown, sleeve 16 is formed by bending asheet of corrugated plastic material to dimensions that enable thesleeve 16 to fit over the treated or machined (as shown in FIGS. 2C and2D) sidewalls 52, 58 of the rail 12 and tray 14, respectively. Thesleeve 16 has an upper edge 61, a lower edge 63, a smooth inner surface66 and a smooth outer surface 68. As shown in FIG. 2E, opposed sideedges 64 of sleeve 16 are joined together along a vertically orientedseam by welding or any other known method. The height, H₄, of sleeve 16,the linear distance between upper and lower edges 61, 63, may be aslittle as about 2 inches and may be as tall as is practicable in orderto protect the selected parts to be stored/transported in the customsized plastic tote 10 while maintaining sufficient vertical stackingstrength.

FIG. 3 illustrates a cross-section of sleeve 16 in which sleeve 16 ismade of plastic corrugated material, the corrugations 76 extendingvertically. Vertically oriented corrugations 76 provide stackingstrength, thereby enabling the custom sized plastic tote 10 to withstandhigh compression forces that are encountered when the totes are stackedone on another. If desired, the corrugations may extend horizontally. Asshown in FIG. 3, the plastic material of sleeve 16 comprises a pair ofgenerally planar face plies, an inner face ply 70 and an outer face ply72. A plurality of vertically oriented corrugations or partitions 74extending between the inner and outer face plies 70, 72 define aplurality of channels or flutes 76.

As shown in FIGS. 2E and 2F, upper and lower portions of sleeve 16 fitover the treated or machined sidewalls 52, 58 of the rail 12 and tray14, respectively, and are secured to them. As shown in FIGS. 2E and 2F,inner surface 66 of sleeve 16 contacts the treated or machined sidewalls52, 58 of the rail 12 and tray 14, respectively. The upper and loweredges 61, 63 of the sleeve 16 contact the upper and lower lips 20, 22 ofthe rail 12 and tray 14, respectively. As shown in FIG. 2F, sleeve 16 issecured to the treated or machined sidewalls 52, 58 of the rail 12 andtray 14, respectively, by sonic welding at select spots or locations 78,using a welder 80.

By using a sleeve 16 made of polyethylene, the same plastic material asthe injection molded tote 18, the sleeve 16 made of corrugated plasticmay be sonically welded at spots 78 to the rail 12 and tray 14. Theinterior dimensions of the rail 12 and the tray 14 are maintained.Alternatively, sleeve 16 may be secured to the rail 12 and the tray 14by any suitable means known in the industry. For example, the rail 12and/or tray 14 may be secured to the sleeve 16 by one or more ofriveting, welding, or gluing, to name a few. The sleeve 16, therefore,separates the upper and lower portions of the injection molded tote 18in the custom made tote 10.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the sleeve may bemade of a trilaminate material sold under the name Con-Pearl®. FIG. 5illustrates this plastic material comprising a pair of generally planarface plies, an inner face ply 82 and an outer face ply 84. A middle ply86 having a plurality of dimples 88 punches therein is sandwichedbetween the inner and outer face plies 82, 84 and is secured thereto.The dimples 88 extend between the inner and outer face plies 82, 84.Con-Pearl®, as shown in FIG. 5, is made of a polypropylene plasticdifferent than the polyethylene of the injection molded tote 18.Therefore, sleeve 16 must be riveted or secured in some manner otherthan welding to the rail 12 and tray 14, respectively. Any of thesleeves shown or described herein may be made of Con-Pearl®, or anyother trilaminate or other plastic material.

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate another embodiment of custom sized plastictote 10 a being made. This custom sized plastic tote 10 a comprisesthree principal components, like custom sized plastic tote 10, a rail 12a from an injection molded tote, a two-piece sleeve 16 a and a tray 14 afrom an injection molded tote. The rail 12 a and tray 14 a of customsized plastic tote 10 a may be from the same injection molded tote ordifferent injection molded totes. The sleeve 16 a is made from twopieces of plastic material 90 a, 90 b overlapped in areas 92. As shownin FIG. 4B, the sleeve 16 a is riveted with rivets 94 to the treated ormachined sidewalls 52 a, 58 a of the rail 12 a and tray 14 a. The sleeve16 a may be any type of plastic material described or illustrated hereinand/or may be made of any number of desired pieces of plastic material.

FIG. 6 illustrates steps of an alternative method of providing a railand tray from injection molded totes for use in creating a custom madetote of a desired height in accordance with this invention. Rather thanobtain the rail 12 and tray 14 of custom sized plastic tote 10 from oneinjection molded tote 18, as described above and shown in FIGS. 2A-2B,FIG. 6 shows an alternative method of obtaining a rail and a tray foruse in creating a customized plastic tote in accordance with thisinvention such as rail 12 and tray 14 of custom sized plastic tote 10.Using this method, the rail 12 and tray 14 of custom sized plastic tote10 are obtained from two different injection molded totes 96 a, 96 b,which are illustrated as being partially damaged, but need not bedamaged. Injection molded tote 96 a is separated into upper and lowerportions 98, 100, respectively, as shown in FIG. 2A. The upper portionor rail 98 is treated, as shown in FIG. 2C, to remove exteriorprotrusions 26. The damaged lower portion 100 of injection molded tote96 a is discarded. Similarly, injection molded tote 96 b is separatedinto upper and lower portions 102, 104, respectively, as shown in FIG.2A. The lower portion or tray 104 is treated, as shown in FIG. 2D, toremove exterior protrusions 26. The damaged upper portion 102 ofinjection molded tote 96 b is discarded. The treated upper portion ofinjection molded tote 96 a and the treated lower portion of injectionmolded tote 96 b, in combination with a one or multiple piece sleeve ofa desired plastic material of a desired height, are used to create acustom sized plastic tote of a desired height.

FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate another embodiment of custom sized plastictote 10 b being made. This custom sized plastic tote 10 b comprisesthree principal components, like custom sized plastic totes 10 and 10 a,a rail 12 b from an injection molded tote, a two-piece sleeve 16 b and atray 14 b from an injection molded tote. The rail 12 b and tray 14 b ofcustom sized plastic tote 10 b may be from the same injection moldedtote or different injection molded totes. The sleeve 16 b is made fromtwo generally rectangular pieces of plastic material 106 a, 106 b whichmay be any plastic material described or illustrated herein. As shown inFIG. 7B, the sleeve 16 b is welded with spot welds 108 to the treated ormachined sidewalls 52 b, 58 b of the rail 12 b and tray 14 b,respectively. Of course, any other securement method, such as rivets,may be used to secure the pieces of plastic material 106 a, 106 b to thetreated or machined sidewalls 52 b, 58 b of the rail 12 b and tray 14 b.

In any embodiment of the present invention described or illustratedherein, the custom sized plastic tote may be color coded in a similarmanner as the injection molded tote or totes used to make the finishedtote.

Accordingly, the invention is to be limited only by the scope of thefollowing claims and their equivalents.

1. A method of manufacturing a custom sized plastic tote comprising:separating an upper portion of an injection molded tote from a lowerportion of said injection molded tote, inserting a middle portion ofsaid custom sized plastic tote between said upper and lower portions ofsaid injection molded tote; and securing said middle portion of saidcustom sized plastic tote to said upper and lower portions of theinjection molded tote to create a custom sized plastic tote of a desiredheight.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein said middle portion of saidcustom sized plastic tote is sonically welded to said upper and lowerportions of the injection molded tote.
 3. The method of claim 2 whereinsaid middle portion of said custom sized plastic tote is made ofcorrugated plastic.
 4. The method of claim 3 wherein the corrugations ofsaid middle portion of said custom sized plastic tote are verticallyoriented.
 5. The method of claim 2 wherein said middle portion of saidcustom sized plastic tote is made of a trilaminate material.
 6. Themethod of claim 5 wherein said middle portion of said custom sizedplastic tote is made of Con Pearl®.
 7. The method of claim 2 whereinsaid middle portion of said custom sized plastic tote is made frommultiple pieces of material.
 8. The method of claim 7 wherein the piecesof said middle portion of said custom sized plastic tote are spaced fromone another.
 9. The method of claim 7 wherein the middle portion of saidcustom sized plastic tote is made of two pieces.
 10. A method ofmanufacturing a custom sized plastic tote comprising the steps of:cutting a first injection molded tote, separating the first injectionmolded tote into an upper portion and a lower portion; securing one ofsaid upper and lower portions of the first injection molded tote to aplastic sleeve; securing a portion of a second injection molded tote tothe sleeve.
 11. The method of claim 10 wherein said sleeve of saidcustom sized plastic tote is sonically welded to the portions of thefirst and second injection molded totes.
 12. The method of claim 10wherein said sleeve of said custom sized plastic tote is made ofcorrugated plastic.
 13. The method of claim 12 wherein the corrugationsof said sleeve of said custom sized plastic tote are verticallyoriented.
 14. The method of claim 11 wherein said sleeve of said customsized plastic tote is made of a trilaminate material.
 15. The method ofclaim 14 wherein said middle portion of said custom sized plastic toteis made of Con Pearl®.
 16. The method of claim 10 wherein said sleeve ofsaid custom sized plastic tote is made from multiple pieces of material.18. The method of claim 17 wherein the pieces of said sleeve of saidcustom sized plastic tote are spaced from one another.
 19. The method ofclaim 17 wherein the sleeve of said custom sized plastic tote is made oftwo pieces.
 20. The method of claim 10 wherein said sleeve of saidcustom sized plastic tote is riveted to the portions to the first andsecond injection molded totes.
 21. The method of claim 10 furthercomprising removing exterior portions of the first and second injectionmolded totes prior to securing said sleeve to the portions of the firstand second injection molded totes.
 22. A method of manufacturing acustom sized plastic tote comprising the steps of: cutting first andsecond injection molded totes, separating each of the injection moldedtotes into an upper portion and a lower portion; securing one of saidupper and lower portions of the first injection molded tote to a plasticsleeve; securing one of said upper and lower portions of the secondinjection molded tote to the plastic sleeve.
 23. The method of claim 22wherein said sleeve of said custom sized plastic tote is made of atrilaminate material.
 24. The method of claim 22 wherein said sleeve ofsaid custom sized plastic tote is made of corrugated plastic.